Driving Miss Crazy

Jul 16, 2007 - Clearing roadsides naturally - no gas needed!

Summertime in California means wildfires.  The Golden State lives up to its name with hills turning a deep yellow as the spring greenery dries up and the winds kick in.  All it takes is a hot car pulling off the road, a cigarette tossed out the window or an accident sending sparks into the brush to ignite hundreds of acres and potentially loss of life and homes. 

The state does try to cut back the growth by a few feet along the highways - manpower, lots of gas in the mowers and weed-whackers and it all grows back rather quickly despite drought conditions sending road crews out numerous times during the summer months to clear again.

A Natural Alternative
Here's how the roadsides are cleared in our neighborhood, less than 15 minutes from downtown San Francisco... 

The goats are brought in once a year from a company called Goats R Us and a temporary electric fence is moved throughout the day herding the goats along the growth.  Since the goats eat the roots of the grass and weeds, regrowth takes an entire year.  Many communities are adopting this trend as an environmentally -friendly and economic way to mitigate fire dangers.  

I'm sure this wouldn't work on the edge of busy highways.  I don't think the goats would like the noise and the driver distraction would cause traffic jams.  Plus, a few cruel and unusual people actually shot at the goats over in the east bay. 

It makes for a nice alternative to loud lawn mowers, exhaust and having crews in year round.  And the kids love it!

2:03 pm | Categories: traffic safety Permalink | Alert Administrator

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